Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor
Anglo-Australian biglaw’s Ashurst and US player Perkins Coie have decided to tie the knot, crafting a new transatlantic megalaw entity – to be Ashurst Perkins Coie – pending the perfunctory partner vote and regulatory nods.
The new firm will straddle 52 offices in 23 countries, weaving a legal web from Seattle to Sydney, from the City to the Pacific Rim.
The firms expect the $2.7 billion marriage to go through in Q3 2026. If you feel a ripple of déjà vu, it’s because Ashurst has form. Once an old-guard UK outfit, Ashurst has since devoured Australia’s Blake Dawson (2012) and spanned out across Asia Pacific’s hotspots, from Port Moresby to Tokyo.
The strategic combo brings Perkins Coie’s much-needed tech and IP muscle into Ashurst’s already powerful energy and infrastructure stable, a merger more “synergy” than spreadsheet, if the press release is to be believed.
Leadership continuity, that perennial item on the merger bingo card, is guaranteed: Bill Malley of Perkins Coie and Paul Jenkins of Ashurst (pictured) will lock arms as global co-CEOs while the combined beast muscles its way into new global markets.
With marquee names and offices in financial superhubs (London, Paris, Hong Kong, New York, Dubai, etc.), the new firm’s ambitions are unmistakable, it wants nothing less than to redefine global law, or at least claim the LinkedIn bragging rights.
Both firms will operate independently until the ink is dry in late 2026. In the meantime, Ashurst continues to fatten its Tokyo bench with lateral hires, while Perkins Coie, having quietly said “zaijian” to Shanghai and Beijing, now eyes Shenzhen for its next China play, if the Ministry of Justice allows a sequel.
